Swimmer's Daily

  • Returning swimming great Grant Hackett would be welcomed into the Australian team in any capacity despite his personal struggles since his 2008 retirement, head coach Jacco Verhaeren has said.

    And Hackett, who will swim in the national trials that begin in Sydney on Friday, said he would be keen to support the team team even if he did not qualify for this year’s world titles in Kazan, Russia.

    Verhaeren will head to the national titles looking for answers over the form of three world champions. James Magnussen’s performance will be heavily scrutinised following his shock decision to leave his long-time coach Brant Best for the inexperienced duo of Lachlan and Mitch Falvey, while Cate Campbell and Christian Sprenger will be returning from shoulder injuries.

    But on Hackett, who returned to the pool in November last year with former coach Denis Cotterell, Verhaeren was emphatic that the Olympic champion would be invaluable to the team, which is rebuilding from its shambolic London Olympics performance, which was marred by the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay squad’s infamous Stilnox bonding session.

    Read The Sydney Morning Herald

  • South Korea’s four-time Olympic swimming medallist Park Tae-Hwan has finally broken his silence after being slapped with a 18-month ban for testing positive for testosterone – a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

    Known affectionately as “Marine Boy” in South Korea, where he is something of a national icon, Park tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid at an out-of-competition control before the Asian Games on September 3 last year.

    At a news conference on Friday (Mar 27), Park offered an apology. “I’d like to extend my sincere apologies to everyone in South Korea who always show unwavering support to me. I am sorry and ashamed by this unacceptable incident for which I too cannot forgive myself.”

    This was his first public appearance since he received his suspension on Monday. The 18-month ban began retroactively the day of the positive test and will end in March 2016.

    Park has said he had no knowledge that the injection he received contained the banned substance. The doctor who gave him the injection has been indicted by prosecutors for professional negligence.

    Whatever the circumstances, Park said he would take full responsibility. He said: “Question of intention aside, as a representative swimmer of South Korea, I sincerely regret the outcome (of this incident). I was ignorant about the world beyond the swimming pool. Regardless of the reason or process, this (incident) is due to my carelessness.”

    Read Channel NewsAsia

    Photo by KOREA.NET – Official page of the Republic of Korea

  • Hosts David Magidoff and Derek Gaines convince contestants to swim laps in baby pools.

  • This video is a small way of showing our appreciation to our countless volunteers across the country. Whether you’re an official, concessions worker or sell programs you all play a huge part in helping our meets run efficiently. From all of us at USA Swimming, thank you for all that you do!

  • Pictionary with Cate and Bronte Campbell, Christian Sprenger, Tommaso D’Orsogna and Jayden Hadler

  • There’s a new sports craze sweeping Poland, and it looks super fun.

    Like an aquatic version of tug of war for adults, all you need to play is 12 burly people and one dragon boat (which is like a competitive rowboat, but twice as wide).

    There’s no official English name for the sport yet, but may we suggest “paddle wars” or “tug of oar”?

    See Mashable

  • Have you ever heard the phrase ‘You are never too old to learn a new trick?” Well, you are never too old to learn some swimming skills!

    The Vigo County YMCA and the Terre Haute Torpedoes Swim Club will be hosting adult aquatics events during the month of April. And it’s not just to learn to swim because you can develop other skills such as using pool time to help you stay fit.

    See WTHITV

  • The first ever world championship in ice swimming was held in the Russian Arctic Circle on March 20-22. RBTH talked with some of the participants in Murmansk about overcoming their limits and asked them whether sports can help resolve political differences.

    Read Russia Beyond The Headlines

  • A private Coralville swimming instructor has a unique item in her garage: a swimming pool.

    “I’m a full-time swimming teacher and I didn’t plan on that, but that’s what I do,” said Megan Oesting, who recently earned her masters in educational measurement and statistics from the University of Iowa.

    Inside Oesting’s garage, 1400 Woolridge Dr., is a pool, decked out with a camera, mirrors and a flat screen TV.

    “I can get five times more done [in the garage] than in a regular pool,” said Oesting, a lifelong swimmer and former head coach of the Iowa Flyers Swim Club. “We have mirrors on the bottom and the mirrors on the top and the underwater camera and the video on the side, so I can show them anything they want.”

    See KCRG